Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Heath Ledger, 1979-2008

Sad news today out of New York City: the young and talented Australian actorHeath Ledgerwas found dead this afternoon in his apartment. His death is believed to be related to a drug overdose of some kind – possibly involving medication he was taking for pneumonia. For the latest, clickhere.

Ledger is probably best known for his acclaimed role in directorAng Lee’s 2005 film,Brokeback Mountain. Described as an “epic American love story,” Brokeback Mountain features Ledger as Wyoming ranch hand Ennis Del Mar, who, from 1963 to the early 1980s, has a clandestine relationship with an aspiring rodeo rider named Jack Twist (played by Jake Gyllenhaal).

In bringing the deeply closeted character of Del Mar to life, Ledger devised a jaw-clenched way of speaking that powerfully conveyed, not only the character’s repressed state, but his struggle to come to terms with, and articulate, his true self. It’s an incredible performance, and one that resonates with anyone - gay or straight - familiar with how secrecy and the inability to accept oneself diminishes and devastates one’s life and the lives of others.

As Neil G. Giuliano, president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation,says: “[Ledger’s] powerful portrayal changed hearts and minds in immeasurable ways.”

Responding to news of Ledger’s death, Brokeback Mountain director, Ang Lee,notedhow Ledger “brought to the role of Ennis more than any of us could have imagined - a thirst for life, for love, and for truth, and a vulnerability that made everyone who knew him love him.”

His performance in Brokeback Mountain also garnered for Ledger numerous accolades from the film world – including “Best Actor of 2005” from both the New York Film Critics Circle and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.

Of Ledger’s portrayal of Ennis Del Mar, New York Times film critic Stephen Holden wrote:

Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a screen performance as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn.

Ledger’s magnificent performance is an acting miracle. He seems to tear it from his insides. Ledger doesn’t just know how Ennis moves, speaks and listens; he knows how he breathes. To see him inhale the scent of a shirt hanging in Jack’s closet is to take measure of the pain of love lost.

In a 2005 article in Newsweek, Ledger insightfully discussed the discomfort some straight men feel at the idea of a film about cowboys in love:

I suspect it’s a fear that they are going to enjoy it. They don’t understand that you are not going to become sexually attracted to men by recognizing the beauty of a love story between two men.

Born in 1979 in Perth, Western Australia, Ledger’s first acting role was at age 10 when he played Peter Pan in a local theatre company production. After relocating to Sydney as a teenager, he began acting in independent films and, at 16, played a young gay cyclist hoping to land a spot on an Olympic team in the 1996 TV drama,Sweat.

His “breakthrough” came when, at age 19, Ledger moved to Los Angeles and starred opposite Julia Stiles in the teen comedy, 10 Things I Hate About You, a reworking of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

One thing I admired about Heath Ledger was the fact that despite the numerous (and, no doubt, lucrative) offers to do other teen-oriented movies, he turned them down, opting instead to pursue more challenging roles.

“It wasn’t a hard decision for me,” Ledger told the Associated Press in 2001. “It was hard for everyone else around me to understand. Agents were like, ‘You’re crazy,’ my parents were like, ‘Come on, you have to eat.’”

Yet Ledger stayed true to his own vision of himself as an actor, and, in time, his profile as a serious actor steadily increased – culminating with his Academy Award “Best Actor” nomination for Brokeback Mountain.

In the few television interviews I saw of Ledger over the years, he always came across as a very down-to-earth and friendly guy. I could well imagine sitting down with him over a cold beer or two and talking freely about a range of topics.

I particularly appreciated Ledger’s relaxed and progressive views on gender and sexuality. He was, after all, a straight man totally at ease with his own sexuality and with the sexuality of those who are gay or bisexual. My sense is that the majority of people Ledger’s age embrace this “live and let live” attitude. I find that hopeful.

Also, likemany of his generation, Ledger was wary of rigidly labeling people and experiences. Shortly after his role in Brokeback Mountain, for instance, he remarked that the labels of gay and straight were too strict, that they marginalized people who may have attractions to both sexes: “I don’t think it’s that black-and-white,” he said. “And I think because we label [sexuality] so harshly, there’s just a lot of confused people running around thinking, Oh, fuck, which side am I on?”

In the aftermath of Heath’s untimely death, his family and friends are undoubtedly going through avery difficult time. My thoughts and prayers are with them. May they, and all who have lost a loved one, know God’s loving and strengthening presence - deep within themselves and mediated to them through the caring words, the understanding silences, and the comforting embraces of those around them.

Above:Ledger’s portrayal of famed Australian bushrangerNed Kelly,
in director Gregor Jordan’s 2003 film, Ned Kelly, ensured he was
nominated for an Australian Film Institute (AFI) award
for “Best Actor in a Leading Role.”

I first saw Casanova as an in-flight movie on a Los Angeles-Sydney
QANTAS flight in May of 2006. I’d recently read Hans Küng’sThe Catholic Church: A Short History, and was intrigued by
the film’s depiction of a papal inquisitor (played by Jeremy Irons)
sent to Venice to arrest the “fornicator,” Casanova. I later wrote aWild Reed commentary entitled Casanova-Inspired Reflections
on Papal Power – at 30,000 Ft!

Above:Ledger as Ennis Del Mar in the award-winning film,Brokeback Mountain.

Of Ledger’s character and performance in Brokeback Mountain, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly notes:

Stung by childhood memories of a rancher who lived with a man and got bashed for it, [Ennis] fears that exposure could kill [him and Jack]. In the classic Westerns, the cowboys were often men of few words, but Heath Ledger speaks in tones so low and gruff and raspy his words just about scrape ground, and he doesn’t string a whole lot of those words together. Ennis’ inexpressiveness is truly . . . inexpressive, yet ironically eloquent for that very reason, as tiny glimmers of soul escape his rigid facade. Ennis says nothing he doesn’t mean; he’s incapable of guile, yet he erupts in tantrums — the anger of a man who can’t be what he is and doesn’t realize the quandary is eating him alive. Ledger, with beady eyes and pursed lips, gives a performance of extraordinary, gnarled tenderness.

Above:With co-star Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain.

Above:Ledger as the poet and heroin addict, Dan, in the 2006 Australian
film, Candy. Directed by Neil Armfield and co-starring Abbie Cornish
and Geoffrey Rush, the film is an adaptation of Luke Davies’
novel, Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction.

Above:In what will now be his last role, Ledger plays the
psychopathicJoker in the soon-to-be released film, The Dark Knight,
a sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins.

I appreciate your tribute to Heath Ledger. He did a huge favor for the gay community in his courageous portrayal of a conflicted gay man. An unforgettable role, and an unforgettable young man. What a terribly sad loss.

As always, you so wonderfully sum up what many of us are thinking and feeling. Thank you for this moving post on Heath Ledger.

As a formerly closeted and married gay man, Ledger's portrayal of Ennis hit home to me with great intensity and showed the conflict of being in the closet and married: the need to be who you are versus what you are expected to be (not to mention the obligation to children and a sadness over hurting your spouse). Ledger made all of that pain and conflict come alive and, hopefully, caused some understanding to be kindled in some people.

I established The Wild Reed in 2006 as a sign of solidarity with all who are dedicated to living lives of integrity – though, in particular, with gay people seeking to be true to both the gift of their sexuality and their Catholic faith. The Wild Reed's original by-line read, "Thoughts and reflections from a progressive, gay, Catholic perspective." As you can see, it reads differently now. This is because my journey has, in many ways, taken me beyond, or perhaps better still, deeper into the realities that the words "progressive," "gay," and "Catholic" seek to describe.

Even though reeds can symbolize frailty, they may also represent the strength found in flexibility. Popular wisdom says that the green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm. Tall green reeds are associated with water, fertility, abundance, wealth, and rebirth. The sound of a reed pipe is often considered the voice of a soul pining for God or a lost love.

On September 24, 2012,Michael BaylyofCatholics for Marriage Equality MNwas interviewed by Suzanne Linton of Our World Today about same-sex relationships and why Catholics can vote 'no' on the proposed Minnesota anti-marriage equality amendment.

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